We are entering what is many farmers' least favourite time of year – housing time. It marks the end of another season at grass and the beginning of dark mornings and evenings feeding in the shed.

While you might not think it, these few weeks are also some of the busiest of the year on farm – the winter routine is yet to get into full flow as some stock remain at grass. On suckler farms, weaning is taking place so cows and calves are separated into different groups. Where groups of 30 or 40 cattle grazed together during the summer they are now running in batches of 10 to 15 in order to minimise damage caused to ground.

This means there are more groups of stock to be herded each day there is meal to be fed to most stock groups as well. On farms with fragmented land parcels the added workload of trailering stock from an out-farm to home is added to the mix.

All this extra work can be very time consuming and can lead to frustration as other jobs that need doing get put on the long finger.

Simplicity is key

The best approach is to keep things as simple as possible and not to spread yourself too thin in terms of what can be achieved in a day. In a lot of cases, the farming is done either before or after a day’s work off-farm.

While we are constantly trying to extend the grazing season in order to keep feed costs to a minimum, these targets should not come at the expense of your own physical or mental health. If that means housing a batch of stock a week or 10 days earlier, so be it. Housing stock dry, and having them in the shed where they can be easily monitored and handled when needed is worth a lot more than a few extra days at grass.

Keep stock groups to a minimum where possible. Keep diets simple for now until the full winter routine is up and running. Be patient with other jobs that need doing – all farms are the same at this time of year.

Finally, take a few minutes this week to call a farming friend that you haven’t been able to see over the last while and check in on how they are doing.